Reconciliation
by Toaofwriting
Summary: A bit of Romione fluff set after Ron comes back. Probably not entirely canon, but not wildly AU either.


**A bit of fluff written after Ron came back. If I were JKR, I would be Scottish, a woman, and highly rich. Since I'm none of those things, I'm obviously not JKR, and nothing belongs to me except the idea.**

Hermione was irritated. This was no great surprise-stuck in a tent for months on end, surviving on food stolen here and there, with the fate of the world partially on her shoulders and no sign of things changing anytime soon, it would have been surprising if she hadn't been irritated. But, in fact, none of these things were on her mind at the moment. Instead, she was thinking about one Ronald Weasley, currently sitting right outside the tent, his silhouette plainly visible. Right now, her emotions were in turmoil due to the fact that he had come back to her-and Harry, of course. She was angry that he'd left, hurt that he'd left her in particular, glad that he was back, and a little upset about how she'd treated him, since she knew in her heart of hearts that he'd probably called himself much worse names when on his own. She was also madly in love with him.

Hermione was also feeling rather guilty. Since he'd come back, not once had Ron complained about the lack of food, the cold, or anything else. He'd volunteered to do the dishes, taken the night watches for himself, and more than once had stayed out rather than come in and wake them, claiming that he wasn't tired. It was completely obvious, however, that he was only doing it so they could get more sleep. She, meanwhile, had barely said a full sentence to him since he'd returned. Deciding to do something other than listen to her thoughts chase themselves in circles, she got up and walked over to the doorway. Harry briefly looked up from where he was lying on the bed, reading _Hogwarts: A History_ (He'd started it after Ron had left to try and make her feel better, and was currently reading about the legend of the Chamber and pretending that it didn't make him nostalgic for Ginny) and smiled at her, then returned to the book.

"Hey, Hermione," he said.

"Yeah?" she replied.

"Apparently Slytherin didn't actually build the Chamber of Secrets, it's just a myth," he smirked.

She snorted, knowing that he was teasing.

"You shouldn't believe everything you read in books, Harry," she replied in the same manner. He looked at her wryly, his eyebrows almost disappearing into his shock of hair. His unspoken message was perfectly clear.

"Oh, be quiet," she responded. He smirked again and went back to the book. She continued on her way and ducked outside the tent. Ron was sitting there, twirling his wand between his hands and staring into the fire. He turned around when he heard her step out, and his shoulders tensed, as if he was expecting her to start hitting him or yelling. The sight made her anger leak away completely. He'd gone from one of her best friends in the world, and possibly something more, to someone who was almost scared of her.

_It's his fault, _argued a part of her mind stemming from grief and hurt.

_Not entirely,_ replied the more truthful part of her brain.

"I'm sorry," she said. He looked at her, a little surprised.

"I didn't want to hurt you," she said.

"Oh, really?" he asked. Pain and hurt were shining out of his deep blue eyes. "Because you certainly seemed to when you attacked me," he added. There was little anger in his voice, just sadness and resignation. For once in her life, she was speechless.

"I was hurt, too," she said. "You left me, left us. You ripped my heart into bits and trampled on the bits. Every day I woke up, expected to find you, and my heart broke all over again when I remembered you'd left. I would think about things to say to you, and then I'd remember that you'd left me, and…."

She never got to finish. Ron got up from his log, stepped forward, and hesitantly put his arms around her. She leaned into him, and he tightened his grip. Far too soon, Ron stepped back.

"Come here," he said. Sitting back down on the log, he patted the bit of log next to him, and she sank down gratefully and rested her head on his shoulder. He put his arm around her, and she leaned into him, enjoying the warmth of his body. An hour later, when Harry came outside for his turn at watch, they were still there. He smiled and ducked back inside the tent, and left them to each other.

**Author's Note: It's probably not canon, since Hermione was still irritated with Ron when they went to the Lovegood house, but it's my bit of Romione fluff, and I enjoy it. So, what do you think? Please review. :)**


End file.
